Spector Coda Pro Bass Review

Since setting up shop in 1975, master
luthier Stuart Spector has since become
something of a star in the bass community.
Though he started out as a one-man operation,
Spector now has manufacturing operations
on three continents, distributors in
more than 60 countries, and a list of 700+ endorsed artists. His U.S.-handbuilt instruments
are some of the most revered among
bassists, but Spector has also made a name
with his quality import models, as well.

But while Spector is probably best
known for his designs that break the mold
of electric basses from the ’60s and ’70s, the
Coda basses he introduced in 2010 show
that he hasn’t completely shied away from
building his interpretation of a classic. The
Codas, however, were previously only available
as high-end, handmade instruments
from his shop in Woodstock, New York,
until the recent unveiling of the much more
affordable, Korean made Coda Pro basses.
Here, we take a look at the 4-string version.
It’s a modern take on a classic design that
carries the Spector name and a price tag
that should appeal to a lot of players.

Lady in Red
At just a hair over 9 pounds, the Coda Pro
is in the same weight class as the Fender
Jazz basses it was inspired by. Its solid body
is constructed of alder and topped with
highly figured quilted maple. Underneath
the high-gloss finish, our test bass was
stained in an eye-catching black cherry,
but natural and black are also available.
The naked top is quite fetching aesthetically,
though more aggressive players might
prefer to see the lower portion protected by
a pickguard.

The 34"-scale Coda Pro’s bolt-on neck
is carved from a single piece of rock maple
and topped with a rosewood fretboard that’s
home to 20 frets, a Micarta nut, and traditional-looking pearl-dot markers. The headstock
boasts a traditional, Fender-inspired
cut—a departure from the typical Spector
headstock—but the tuners are not the
cloverleaf variety we’re used to seeing on a
Jazz. Instead, Coda Pros are outfitted with a
set of Spector’s black, more contemporary-styled
Legend machines that felt solid and
tight when tuning up.

On the other end of the bass, the Coda
Pro features Spector’s popular locking, top-loading
bridge. Its die-cast construction not
only makes it lightweight, it’s intended to
help with sonic transparency. It’s also very
user friendly—which was nice, because
some tweaking was necessary after the bass
had gone through a few different climate
changes. The saddles simply lock into place
via a hex screw on the side of the bridge.
Once locked, accidental adjustments can’t
be made and the saddles will stay in place
even when changing strings.

When our Coda Pro arrived, its action
was so low that all four strings were buzzing
up to the 7th fret. Fortunately, the
user-friendly bridge allowed for some quick
string-height adjustments that had me back
in business again in just a handful of minutes.
Unplugged and saddles adjusted, the
Coda Pro resonated nicely, and the slender
neck felt buttery smooth, fast, and clean.

When I rolled the neck pickup’s volume knob all
the way up and set the treble and bass controls at their
halfway points, I pounded out fat, punchy tones that still
had pronounced midrange and highs.

Brightly Speaking
The Coda Pro comes stocked with a pair
of EMG HZ passive single-coils powered
by Spector’s TonePump Jr. active tone
circuit. Made in the Czech Republic, the
TonePump Jr. has volume controls for each
pickup, allowing for plenty of tone-shaping
possibilities when used in tandem with the
bass and treble knobs—each of which provides
12 dB of boost. When I opened the
control cavity to throw in a fresh battery, I
discovered the Coda Pro has über-clean wiring
and shielding work inside.

Ratings

Pros:
A modern take on a classic visual and tonal aesthetic.
Quality craftsmanship. Moderately priced. Good spectrum
of tones to work with.

I tested the Coda Pro through a Gallien-Krueger 800RB powering a TC Electronic
RS410 cab, and I started out by giving each
pickup a chance on its own. When I rolled
the neck pickup’s volume knob all the way
up and set the treble and bass controls at
their halfway points, I pounded out fat,
punchy tones that still had pronounced
midrange and highs. At this setting, the
Coda Pro’s neck-pickup tones called to
mind the adjective “bright” more so than
“earthy” or “woody.” That said, they sustained
very well and this particular setting
would still fit in nicely with a variety of
music styles.

Rolling off the neck pickup and bringing
up the bridge pickup all the way (again,
with the bass and treble knobs at noon)
yielded cutting, modern sounds that were
a bit too bright and thin for my tastes.
However, with both pickups, I detected
little to no hiss or hum unless I pushed the
treble knob past 70 percent.

Now that I had a feel for the pickups
and tone knobs, I set out to find my favorite
sounds—and in the process I found that
the active preamp enables you to coax a
wide variety of tones from the Coda Pro. I
found my sweet spot—a nice brew of thickish
but discernable lows with a dusting of
mids and highs that help your sound stand
out in a mix—by maxing the neck’s volume,
blending in the bridge pickup about
halfway, and setting treble at 50 percent
and bass at 75 percent.

The Verdict
From the moment I unpacked the Spector
Coda Pro and throughout all the time I
spent with it, I was impressed with how
well put together it was. I didn’t detect
even the tiniest of scratches, the neck-body
joint was near perfect, and the control
cavity was among the tidiest I’ve seen.
It’s another fine example of how imports
have continued to evolve and improve in
quality. While aggressive pick-wielders
may worry about how well the unprotected
finish will stand the test of time,
and those who favor vintage J tones might
find the EMGs and active circuit lacking
in warmth, the evenness of the finish,
the feel of its slender neck, the quality
appointments, and variety of modern
tones will certainly win fans among players
looking for a moderately priced update
on a classic recipe.

Associate Editor Rich Osweiler started playing guitar at the tender age of 8, but over the years bass has become his main instrument. Prior to joining Premier Guitar, Rich worked at Acoustic Guitar for close to 10 years, most recently as associate publisher and director of marketing. He loves all types of music—from gypsy jazz to lo-fi and grindcore—provided the genre name isn’t preceded by the “contemporary” tag. Outside of music, Rich enjoys travel, skiing, backpacking, and learning how to be a dad. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, daughter, and their dog, Kiko.

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